Ted Koppel

Birthday

Feb 8, 1940

Bio: Moved to the U.S. from Britain with his family when he was 13. Failed an Associated Press job-application test before being hired by ABC in 1963. Was offered the job of State Department spokesman in 1975 by Secretary of State Henry Kissinger. Took a leave of absence from ABC in 1976 to stay home with his children while his wife attended law school. Speaks… MoreBio: Moved to the U.S. from Britain with his family when he was 13. Failed an Associated Press job-application test before being hired by ABC in 1963. Was offered the job of State Department spokesman in 1975 by Secretary of State Henry Kissinger. Took a leave of absence from ABC in 1976 to stay home with his children while his wife attended law school. Speaks German, Russian and French. Fame grew during his work on ABC's Nightline, born in 1980, which grew from temporary broadcasts spurred by the Iran hostage crisis, which started in 1979. Looking back at that crisis 30 years later, Koppel said that "you don't have a lot of coverage of Iran anymore...that's tragic, but it's all part of the economics of television." Has won many journalism awards, including dozens of news Emmys, and was inducted into the Broadcasting Hall of Fame in 1992. After retiring in 2005 from Nightline, after 25 years, worked for the Discovery Channel and for National Public Radio. In 2011, did anchor work for BBC World News America on such issues as the crisis in Libya.